G'day Laura, if you are set on a round knife Osborne make a nice one and they're a US made option. Dixon are good if you can find an old one, they were an English brand. Keep your eyes open for second hand tools, sometimes you can pick up some nice gear. You should also check the web site of Bruce Johnson leather tools, he specializes in quality old tools. Ebay is worth a look as well. Don't buy anything old and rusty if you haven't got the gear to restore it. I love fixing them up but you do need some experience. Have a look at Rocky Mountain leather, they have some great new high quality tools. There are also a number of guys around that make hand made leather knives and tools in the US that are well worth a look as well. There are a ton of options out there, you just have to decide what's best for you. Cheers, Doug

That's crap and they would have known that before they sent them. It will probably be a pain to return them if you have to pay the postage, you should give them a chance to rectify the issue first and hopefully they will. If not you may have to re-drill the holes that don't line up. It's not the end of the world but it shouldn't happen. Fingers crossed. Doug

In this case bigger is better, your bench can never be too big. Ideally you want a bench to work at and a table that you can use to lay out hides and cut them on, but you have to work with the space you have. Height is always tricky, years ago while doing rehab after surgery I was told that standing height benches should be elbow height, but I think waist height is a good start. Make the bench a comfortable height to work at standing and get a height adjustable stool rather than a chair. Also, make sure that you can get your knees under the bench when sitting otherwise you will be constantly leaning forward. I would suggest 600mm (2 feet) wide and as long as you can fit, you need room to work plus room for your slab of granite and you don't want to have to move it around. Your granite slab can never be too big either. If you don't have room for a table and your work area is not inside your house, you may be able to build a table that connects to the wall and folds up out of the way when not in use, there's plenty of plans around the net for these. I hope this is some help. Cheers

Hi, I would probably stay away from a steel benchtop unless you are going to put a wooden layer on top of it. I doubt you will be doing any leatherwork that would need you to have a steel top and you would need to be certain to have every edge and corner radiused and smooth so it didn't mark your leather.

What Fadi said. The only thing I would suggest is embedding a magnet in the leather on the outer curve of the leg (on the top side when you are using it).

A pale eggshell blue.

G'day Patrick, look forward to seeing some of your work.

Thanks mate, it almost glows in the dark. The strap and oval are one piece and the strap just slips through the keeper, there is no clip or clasp.

Done except for the edges.I used grey edge paint but its not really matching the leather very well, so I'll have a look at some other colours and see what I can find. Also not quite sure if the eyes and nose are big enough, let me know what you think.

Thanks mate. They do some pretty bright colours in the chrome tanned hides.

Thanks Nica, I enjoy doing bag charms every now and then. They can be very time consuming when you use more than one colour but you can also use up some offcuts.

Thanks Nica. They should hold 10 cards.

I have had the same problem on very soft leather and the only advice that I got was that the blade was not sharp enough. It does work better when the blade is freshly sharpened but it is still inconsistent. Hopefully someone can offer some more ideas. Doug

The bag is looking good, very sturdy design. I think a bright lining would really set it off.

Tormek sharpeners are a great machine, not cheap though.

Thanks Matt. I like this style because it's a good general purpose knife, you can use it for skiving and cutting out and it suits both left and right hand users. I actually prefer an angled blade for skiving but it has to be made to suit left or right hand use and I have different ones depending on which direction I need to skive or cut. I have way too many knives and to be honest I really only use two of them regularly. (never enough knives) I also prefer a shorter overall height because I like to have my hand closer to the work which I find gives me better control. With some of the longer styles you end up holding the blade which can be uncomfortable when cutting heavier leather but the extra length can be helpful when skiving thinner leathers. Regardless of all these options, if I was only going to have one knife it would be something similar to the one in the picture. There are a lot of good options out there these days but none of the good ones will be cheap and some you will have to wait for. Some worth looking at are; Doldoki, Palosanto, Okada tools, and I've heard good things about the latest one from the guys at Crimson Hides. There are many others, including a number of hand made options as well. I hope this helps a little and hasn't confused the issue too much. Please let me know if you're not sure about anything. Cheers

Thank you sir. I haven't made these pins for ages but they look good with this design.

I'm a knife maker and from time to time I make the odd leather knife ( as well as other knives) and I always use new steel that I can identify and heat treat correctly to suit the steel and the intended use. There's nothing wrong with using or re-purposing old knives and tools provided you select something that is made from decent steel and you don't get it too hot when you grind it. It can be a lot of fun to make your own tools and I do it all the time. When looking for a knife to modify, check to see if you can mark it with a file. If you can file it or cut it with a Hacksaw, it's not going to hold a decent edge. The blades from old hand planes are great if you can find any around, also old Power Hacksaw blades, provided they are not Bi-metal blades. Old carbon steel blades are ok but old stainless steel ones not so good. We have all heard people say that the old steels are the best and to be blunt, it's a load of rubbish. Some of the old steels are good but the new steels around these days are outstanding, provided you select an appropriate grade for the intended purpose. The only problem with these steels is the price, high performance steels are expensive. If you are looking at blades from Knifemaking suppliers make certain they have been heat treated. Cheers, Doug

I keep a fine brass wire brush in with the heat tips and I clean the tips as soon as I use them. It stops any buildup and keeps the tips in good order. The brass bristles make cleaning the grooves in the tips easy and it can be done while the tips are hot, before anything bakes on the metal. Doug

G'day David, look forward to seeing some of your work.